College students prepare to feed hungry

Four thousand students and community leaders aim to package a record 1 million meals on three North Carolina university campuses Aug. 23 to feed the world’s hungry.

The University Million Meal Event, sponsored by Stop Hunger Now, will be held at N.C. State University in Raleigh, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University in Greenville.

The meals, which cost only 20 cents each to make, contain a mixture of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix that includes 21 essential vitamins and minerals.

The $200,000 needed to make the event possible is being donated by community sponsors.

Honorary co-chairs for the event are U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole; former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton; CEO Ryan Allis of iContact; actor Jesse Metcalf; and June Heaton, Harriet Giles and Doug Coutts of Fighting World Hunger.

On each campus, the co-chairs are scheduled to address participants on the issue of world hunger.